UWB evolves

Before we close the books on UWB, let's remember that not all start-up companies are expected to survive when a new technology hits the streets.

The long-awaited UWB shakeout is upon us.

Intel recently scuttled its design effort in a move it called a classic "make vs. buy" decision. Around the same time, WiQuest closed its doors. Artimi is rumored to be ready for a realignment of some sort.

There is little doubt that UWB in the form of Certified WirelessUSB suffered some technical setbacks earlier this year. It was, for example, discovered that the companies were not getting anywhere near the data throughputs that had been advertised.

But before we close the books on UWB, let's remember that not all start-up companies are expected to survive when a new technology hits the streets. As Alereon CEO Eric Broockman pointed out in his blog, there were dozens of other Bluetooth startups, a few of which were acquired by larger companies, but ultimately CSR was the true winner.

Ditto for Wi-Fi: There were as many as 50 Wi-Fi startups but only Atheros became successful publicly traded company and technology superstar. Much the same story for Ethernet 10/100 chips. Plenty of competitors, but only Broadcom found superstardom.